NASDAQ and Shanghai exchange get into bed with Astana

Nasdaq has been selected to power Kazakhstan’s new AIFC Exchange and, along with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is also in talks to take a stakes in the nascent stock market that is due to be launched later this year. The AIFC will initially trade in equities and fixed income with other asset classes for future phases. “By leveraging our Nasdaq Financial Framework, the AIFC Exchange will be running on ground breaking technology, which will allow for standardized and unified operations, coupled with robust flexibility to boost its competitive proposition in a rapidly evolving international marketplace,” said Nasdaq’s Head of Market Technology, EVPLars Ottersgard.The new Astana exchange is the centrepiece of the Kazakh capital’s bid to create a financial hub for the Central Asian region to attract international banks, traders and legal and financial services companies. Kazakhstan has pledged to list stakes in its largest state-owned companies on the exchange as a lure to foreign capital, and has agreed to allow the Astana International Finance Centre (AIFC) to be ruled by English law and foreign judges independent from the country’s judicial system. The AIFC hopes that by bringing the exchanges on board, they will help to encourage US and Chinese investors to use the new bourse, enhance its technological expertise and improve its credibility among investors. In addition to the two primary partners, the AIFC has agreed co-operation agreements with exchanges in Warsaw and Moscow, KospI in South Korea and Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul. Central Asia currently has no financial capital.